1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to wet wipes which are typically arranged in a stacked configuration. The invention particularly concerns a wet wipe which has improved dispensability and a stack of the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Wet wipes are well known commercial consumer products which have been available in many forms. Perhaps the most common form of wet wipes has been a stack of moistened sheets which have been packaged in a plastic container. Typically, the wet wipes have had straight or linear edges and a generally rectangular configuration. The wet wipes have also been available in either folded or unfolded configurations. For example, stacks of wet wipes have been available wherein each of the wet wipes in the stack have been arranged in a folded configuration such as a c-folded, z-folded or quarter-folded configuration as are well known to those skilled in the art. Each folded wet wipe has also been interfolded with the wet wipes immediately above and below in the stack of wet wipes. In addition, the wet wipes have been in the form of continuous webs of material which include perforations to separate the individual wet wipes and which are wound into rolls and packaged in plastic containers. Such wet wipes have been used for baby wipes, hand wipes, household cleaning wipes, industrial wipes and the like. The wet wipes have been made from a variety of materials and are moistened with a suitable wiping solution.
The conventional packages which contain stacks of wet wipes, such as those described above, have been designed to provide one at a time dispensing which can be accomplished using a single hand. Such single handed, one at a time dispensing is particularly desirable because the other hand of the user is typically required to be simultaneously used for other functions. For example, when changing a diaper product on an infant, the user typically uses one hand to hold and maintain the infant in a desired position while the other hand is searching for a wet wipe, such as a baby wipe, to clean the infant.
However, the dispensing of wet wipes in such stacks has not been completely satisfactory. For example, users of the wet wipes have had difficulties recognizing and grasping the edges of each individual wet wipe to dispense or remove the wet wipe from the package. This problem has been particularly acute when the individual wet wipes in the stack are folded such that the leading edge of each wet wipe is folded over upon another portion of the wet wipe. Typically, the user will frictionally drag from one to three fingers across the top surface of the stack of wet wipes in an attempt to peelingly lift the leading end edge of the top wet wipe from the stack of wet wipes. However, the leading end edge of each wet wipe in such a folded configuration has tended to have an affinity for the other portions of the wet wipe especially when the wet wipes have been arranged in a stacked configuration for a period of time. As a result, in use, it has been undesirably difficult for the user to peelingly lift the leading end edge of each wet wipe from the other portions of the wet wipe to facilitate the dispensing of each wet wipe from the stack of wet wipes.
Moreover, as each wet wipe in the stack of wet wipes has been dispensed or removed from the stack, the trailing edge portion of the wet wipe has not always easily separated from the adjacent wet wipe. Such difficult separation has undesirably caused the user to exert additional force to remove the wet wipe. In addition, in packages which contain a stack of individually folded wet wipes, each wet wipe has not always completely unfolded as it has been removed from the stack by the user. For example, the bottom flap portion of the individually folded wet wipe has undesirably remained in a contacting relationship with the other portions of the wet wipe as the wet wipe has been removed. Such difficult separation and incomplete unfolding has undesirably resulted in reduced consumer acceptance.
The difficulties encountered in dispensing the wet wipes has been particularly evident in stacks of wet wipes which have a greater amount of solution and in stacks of wet wipes which have a greater number of wet wipes. For example, each wet wipe and, in particular, the edges of each wet wipe have had an increased affinity for the other portions of the wet wipe and the adjacent wet wipe in the stack as the amount of solution in the stack increases. As a result, the consistency and reliability of the dispensing of such wet wipes has undesirably declined as the amount of solution has increased. Accordingly, it has been desired to provide a wet wipe and stack of wet wipes which have improved dispensability.